By Hajara Abdullahi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a notorious drug dealer, Yusuf Azeez, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, released on Sunday, the 40-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Saudi Arabia.
The statement added that Azeez, who had previously been arrested in the United Kingdom, jumped bail, fled to Nigeria, and established a drug laboratory in Lagos.
“The drug kingpin had been arrested and charged for drug offences in the United Kingdom but jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. Soon after settling in Lagos, he set up a massive clandestine laboratory in the Lekki area for the production of Colorado and other illicit substances,” Babafemi said.
Babafemi further explained that NDLEA operatives apprehended Azeez at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, in the company of one Abideen Kekere Ekun, 43, at the Lagos airport as they attempted to board a flight.
“He was immediately taken to his laboratory at 17 Vincent Eku Street, Ogombo, Lekki, which had been under surveillance for some time,” he added.
The statement concluded that inside the building, operatives from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring dismantled laboratory equipment, precursor chemicals, and already-produced illicit substances, including 148.3 kilograms of Colorado.